Retro Club - 8 & 16-bit puzzlers
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Just to cofirm that y'all aren't smoking crack, everyone's in agreement that the bosses in this are a letdown, right? I've just killed Mother Brain and that encounter was a borderline abomination. Good game, but yeesh, that bit was absolutely atrocious.
Looks like Metroid can crawl now anyway, so it just gained a point. -
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I stayed on that turret on the right wall and hopped down to shoot.
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Good, I thought was going to get spitballs fired at my face.
It's been a while since I played Fusion but I think I prefer this on the whole. -
I’m moving house on Wednesday and I found a box of old gba games in the loft, including a boxed copy of zero mission (and fusion) and wondered what the best way to play gba games is now? I have a micro but it’s a really uncomfortable thing to play on…
DS lite probably right? -
The games look nice on the Lite but the dpad drove me mad, stick with the micro.
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I'm hoping the Pocket Analogue becomes the correct answer to this, once it ships... -
Oh man I wish the pocket analogue, but the price is pretty steep for the handful of gba games I still have. I suppose I did find both oracle Zeldas as well, as well as Pokemons and that amazing metal gear gbc game.
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GBA Player isn't a bad shout.
Not exactly portable though. Holding the wrong end of the stick since 2009. -
acemuzzy wrote:I'm hoping the Pocket Analogue becomes the correct answer to this, once it ships...
I have plenty more games for sale. -
Ruh roh
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Any castlevanias?
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Afraid not.
I've got Zero Mission though. -
Nnggg
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Metroid Zero Mission - GBA (3hrs 27mins, 52%)
I enjoyed this on the whole. Considering this is an update of a game from 1986 that was released in 2004 it's actually very good indeed. However! Having played three 2D Metroid games now - two to the credits - it's fair to say I'm not a fan of the way Samus controls. Everyone has their Stranger Things season 2 episode 7 moment for the classics - bats seem to get a short shrift in Castlevania/Ninja Gaiden, underwater Sonic sticks out like a sore thumb and so on, but Samus-with-her-feet-in-lava is pure anguish to me; I just find it hideous to haul yourself out of (then don't fall in!, shouts the nearest Numptendo spokesperson). Furthermore it's not just the sticky feet, the movement and shooting feels short of greatness at all times to me.
So my hot take is this: it's an expertly crafted game built around what is merely an above average platform shooter. I'm trying to give my thoughts on where it stands on the pantheon of greats - if this was a random retro dive I'd be far more impressed - but for a game with this much pedigree I was left a little bemused by some of the love. The suitless section added for the rerelease is pretty uninspired and the bosses are, by and large, weak. The Mother Brain battle was bobbins and Metal Ridley was an 'is that it?' pushover (I'm poor at these games and it took one attempt). So what does it do well? The incremental upgrades and map design is top tier, as are the wealth of secrets and tricks. As a youngster I could go through the octopus pot in Miracle World and find a hidden zone, Sonic had a few TV screens tucked away in walls and locating hidden items in Castle of Illusion was a piece of cake, but if you're playing Secret Bits Top Trumps you're unlikely to win with a Sega heavy hand. It's astonishing that the layout of this is based a NES game imo, it's such an intricately designed trail of breadcrumbs. We had Zillion shortly afterwards although I don't recall that being quite this assured with its map/maze. I said a similar thing when reviewing Link's Awakening on Switch with regards to its Gameboy origins, but wow. I really do get it now, Nintendo were so far ahead of the game in so many ways it's no wonder their back catalogue is so revered. Even without the post Mother Brain segment this is a remarkable design feat.
So tl,dr: don't mind me, I'm just not a fan of the way 2D Metroid games feel screen to screen. The jump is fine once you get used to it but it's not particularly fun to run and gun for my personal tastes. I'd wager it wouldn't get the chef's kiss from anyone as a straight left to right platform shooter without the 'vania element, certainly not in 2021, whereas most of my big genre favourites could successfully moonlight as simpler titles (Ori as a platformer, Hollow Knight as a hack 'n slash boss rush etc). The Mummy Demastered is a drop dead gorgeous modern Metroid clone that can't hold a candle to this in terms of overall design but felt more satisfying to pew pew. This is why I bounced off Super Metroid (twice), for all its undeniable goatliness, and it's also why this one only earns a [7]. Good, but not quite as good as Fusion which I gave an [8] in 2017. Sorry all, but if I don't speak my truth who will??
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I know what you mean but it doesn’t play that way to me. I only recently started playing them. Think I bounced off Super back in the day. Didn’t seem very good, so so graphics, uninteresting enemies, not much action. And it’s not really fluid or fun to move Samus around. But the design sucks you in.Moot_Geeza wrote:So my hot take is this: it's an expertly crafted game built around what is merely an above average platform shooter.
I hate the spin jump for instance. I hate the weird timing of it. But when you get it, you’re so involved with the game, that it’s brilliant.
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Full power Samus charging round with the Brinstar theme playing is as good as it gets.
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Spin jump timings felt wrong to me in this and Fusion. Probably because I was approaching it with my Musashi head on.
Good games that paved the way for better ones imo, glad I've played enough of the series to solidify an opinion, even if it remains that. -
Anyone up for Power Blade on NES.
DF retro speak highly of it:
https://youtu.be/8zNMH1DRFyY
Developed by Natsume who also done Shadow of the Ninja and Shatterhand on NES, and the Pocky & Rocky games along with Wild Guns and The Ninja Warriors on SNES.
Definitely seem to be one of those developers who were just below the top tier of Capcom and Konami back in the day.オレノナハ エラー ダ -
I enjoyed every game you've mentioned, so it's a yes from me.
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I think it was just me playing Zero Mission so we move on.
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Power Blade (NES)
Another very good action platformer for the NES with tight responsive controls, and top graphics and sound for the system.
The game is broken up into 7 levels, but they aren't in the typical left to right linear structure. Instead the levels have a very light element of exploration. You basically have to find your contact in each level to collect a key card in order to gain access to the room containing the level boss. The levels aren't huge though so you won't get majorly lost, more of a case of trial and error with the various routes.
Your further rewarded with exploring by collecting a metel suit that inflicts a much more powerful attack, you can take three hits with this before reverting Nova (your character) to his standard form. There are upgrades to the standard attack, but these are basically given out instantly just like the whip upgrades in Castlevania. There are also energy tanks to be found, along with screen clearing grenades and health in the form of burgers, god bless the 90s.
My main gripes are the boss fights and difficulty. The boss fights are quite basic and seem to get easier, maybe it was just me but I struggled much more with the first two than the following five, in fact I beat most of those on the first attempt. The game overall is a tad on the easy side and with infinite continues and passwords it's one even average gamers of the era should have seen though without much trouble.
Easy isn't bad though, this is a solid title overall and well worth a playthrough.
4/5
My Reviews
オレノナハ エラー ダ -
This is really good.
I had a brain fart with Rygar, think I went low 70s for the MS port score. Had another go after playing this and it's not a good game at all, I need to amend it to a 53% or something. -
Power Blade - NES (90mins)
Quality platform boomerang 'em up, easily up there with the best in show for 1990. It's so good it's hard to fault really - controls are tight, jumps and enemy placement never take the piss, graphics are impossibly good for a NES game and the music is on top of the unit above the top drawer.
Finding your contact in each stage to open the exit is a nice touch. I usually prefer a straight linear experience with my retro trips but it's obvious that this approach is a success. Remember the personal letter to the Kingdom of Nibana in Alex Kidd in Miracle World? Imagine that in every stage, but the exit remains locked until you find it*. I agree with everything Retroking said in his Retro Club review, especially regarding the bosses, but I'm feeling more generous. By my calculations this would've been a Mean Machines 93% Mega Game, even taking the delayed western release into account. Much like Shatterhand it's an absolute belter. If Samus runs like Jordan Henderson, which Wario has confirmed she does, Nova runs like Ben Richards for governor of California.
*Not the most fitting comparison but I'm kickstarting the Miracle World DX hypetrain. -
Anyone else giving Power Blade a crack or should we move on?
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I really couldn't get into this game. I agree with a lot of the positives, but the combat just felt sub-par to me. The boomerang could have done with being longer-range, for a start, in terms of the enemy design and placement. It was as though they had a Strider-esque vision for close quarters combat, but it just didn't really work.PSN : time_on_my_hands
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Fair enough. I liked the power bar for the boomerang - let it build up and you throw it the length of the screen. I thought the multi directional fire was really well implemented too.
I won't suggest the sequel just yet then, heh.
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